Worms don’t gross out the children at the Child Development Center and Lab School, said Alexandra Sitzman, early childhood education major.

Students in preschool A at the CDCLS studied several kinds of worms July 5 to 9.

As part of their project, the children set up an aquarium that contains Night Crawlers, Sitzman said.

“They also constructed individual aquariums made out of two liter soda bottles,” she said.

“The children are really interested in worms right now.”

All of the children in preschool A are involved with the worms.

Filming at OCCC ended July 16 for the upcoming short film, “Going Down.”

Students and filmmakers are working on the editing process and a rough cut of the short should was completed July 23, said Aaron Chenoweth, who co-wrote the screenplay with its male lead Demyilo Ray.

The short film stars students Celia Gunn-Zaboli and Ray. They play the characters Sera and Ryan, a couple arguing aboard an elevator, according to the script and the unfinished footage.

As they quarrel, the elevator makes stops and quirky bystanders crowd in.

The seven-page script is a dialog-derived comedy about a woman questioning her boyfriend’s fidelity after reading his text messages.

The tiny Asian country of Nepal has had a huge impact at OCCC this year, International Services Coordinator Sunny Garner said last week.

With 139 students and approximately one-third of the international student population, Nepal tops the charts at OCCC when it comes to international student enrollment, Garner said.

Nepal is near India, with a land mass approximately the size of Arkansas.

David Carmichiel, a man in his mid-50s, was a student at OCCC in the summer and fall of 2009. He also was homeless.

Carmichiel said his problems began in early 2009 when his trailer caught fire.

The flames spread to his motorcycle, destroying everything, leaving only him and his cat.

That, combined with the bad economy, he said, led to him falling through the cracks of society and becoming homeless.

OCCC English Professor Bertha Wise was selected as one of 50 professors from across the nation to attend a workshop to learn about the Ponca, Pawnee and Omaha American Indian tribes.

Wise attended National Endowment for the Humanities, a grant-funded workshop for community college faculty June 20 through the 25 at Central Community College in Columbus, Neb., she said

Wise, who has taught Native American Literature was selected as one of 98 applicants from across the nation.

“(The workshop) gave me a lot better insight and understanding of both the history and culture of these three tribes and the role they played in the different regions of the plains,” she said.

After 35 years in education and four years at OCCC, the director of the Language Arts Department retired last week.

Cheryl Stanford, who instituted the multicultural English program, made the decision to retire in January.

In an e-mail to her staff, Stanford said, “My job here at OCCC has given me the chance to be innovative and create which I have enjoyed.

The children at the Child Development Center and Lab School have harvested vegetables every morning in their garden this week, Lisa Jones, teacher and lab assistant said.

The garden, planted in May, has sunflowers, squash, okra, watermelon, sunflowers, sweet potatoes, and strawberries, she said.

Jones said the children are harvesting their plantings to learn about things that grow and how they grow.

Students in the college’s Upward Bound Program learned team-building skills during a one-day workshop June 18, said Carmela E. Pyle, program assistant director.

Upward Bound is a program that offers classes to high school students to increase academic skills and leadership development.

For the past 25 years OCCC has hosted the Southwest Regional Lifeguard games which came to an end July 9 at White Water Bay.

Head lifeguard Tre Kramer said OCCC’s Senior Lifeguard team came in fifth out of 15 teams, placing second in Spinal Injury Management, fourth in Deep Water Tug-of-War, and 11th in the Reach, Tow and Rescue competition.

Kramer won the male Iron Guard award. For the Iron Guard award, Kramer said, judges look for someone exceeding the expectations of lifeguard duties.

Students were forced outside as area police, firemen and the Oklahoma City bomb squad converged on campus to participate in a college-wide bomb drill Tuesday, July 13.

The simulated bomb threat began at 9:08 a.m. when a mock bomb exploded on the south side of the college in parking lot F. The drill lasted throughout most of the afternoon.